Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-06-25
ROCk OF GIBRALTAR.
OF The TOWN AND
IT'S DEFENSES.

III. Natural Cavern. "f TIA. Rock" aud
IL. system ot Tunneied Gsti.ries-ihe
Fines: Garrison in the W"riJ->"ted
si.G.>.
There is no port on the European station
hailed with more delight by the crew 81 an
American man - war than u Gibraltar Let
100 tars 90 oy-l the side on liberty with a
months pay Ia their monk bags and depeisd
on il the Scotch HighIanders Will soon be
singing Yankee Eood,e' 10 the tune set by
the iolli.st crowd Of tsrs that ever stepped
ashore.
Though Gibraltar has not been subjected
10 the attacks Ot war vessels Ot the present
dav still IL has wjthStood NIeg" before
which no other fortress IN tn" world could .
have held out Since that famous siege oil .
the last century every ything has been done I" .
make the place, humanity speaking, lmpres
nable
The. rock" itself i, not more than seven
miles in circumference. and ITS elevation
above the sea, at the highest point does not
exceed 400 feet. The town Is situated on .
the western slope. for on sill other sides the
ascent is very PERCEPTIONS ihe isthh'us
which connects Gibraltar with the mainland
this is,hmus that ihe famous neutral ground
is marked of by the two parallel rows OF
English and Spansh sentry boxes. Apart
from the position of the rock. It Is greatly
strengthened by the presence of remarkable
natural caveIns with which il Is perforated.
Tbes. caverns re all difficult of access. The
largest, 81. Nj ,hael's, has hall hung with
stalactiteS reaching from roof 10 floor. Its
entrance is 600 feet above the level Of the
sea, and il Is connected with other caverns
beneath it Of unknown depth. No doubt the
presence Of these natural caverns suggested
the idea 20 the British Of eHcsvating and tun-
neling the rock"
GALLERIES AND FLATS.
A system of galleries has been cut facing
the harbor and neutral ground at an enor-
nous expense Much of this work WIS car
ried on by prisoners At intervals OF twelve
: wards ports have been cut for guns, and some
of the ordnance mounted is of very heavy
caliber The galleries are tunneied in tiers,
! and several extend 20 a distance of two or
three miles. being wide enough to admit of
the OK carts of the fort. On the western slope
there are many level spots, but the bats Of
Gibraltar are near the top Of the rock" Ii
is here that the infantry is drilled and eXer-
men, and it has always been the custom at
the Horse guards" in London, 10 send out "A
great many Highlanders to Gibraltar, though
they do not compose the whole force. This
garrison is one OF the hardest drilled in the
British service and the men usually the
pick OF the army The feeling Of pride will
allow only the flower of the British troops TO
hold Gibraltar Report has il that Gen.
Grant considered this garrison the finest body
of men of any he saw during his tour around
the world
There are a great number of Moors AMI
. Jews here besides the English, and not few
Spaniaris All foreigners visiting the town
are required to take out permls de seJour,
and must find bondsmen To go security FOR
their good behavior during the ten, fifteen or
twenty days for which the permit Is made
out However, this NAV be renewed after
the expiration Of the time limit. The au-
thorities prevent rs much as possible any ac-
QUESTION in the way of new residents. This
is TO the town only Inside the limits Of the
barracks no strangers are admitted after
nirhtlaIl The officers, however, may intro
duce a friend for a period OF a month. but
are held in strict account FOR all his actions
Justice Is administered according To the laws
of England, but there Is prevailing spirit of
the military court martial in all the proceed
ngs Of the court The air militaire Is inCul-
Gated in all pertaining TO the rock, and Is
more than all apparent seeming.
THE WATER SUPPLY.
The majority Of the houses in the town are
built with flat tops, which enable the inhabi-
tan,s to secure a considerable amount Of
rain water Tanks are built under the
buildings and are fitted with drains leading
from the roofs IL Is the water supply which
has always proved Of vital Importance 10
Gibraltar Tut the authorities have finally
mastered the question, and the rock Is now
well prov ided with good water Two large
, tanks one containing 1900 aud tue other
il,OOO gallons, are kept constantly full with
which TO supply naval vessels.
Gibraltar stands to-day the KEY to the
Mediterranean, and is the center Of that line
OF fortresses which connect Great Britain
with those enormous fields of wealth in tn.
1 East Indies. The stragetic Importance OF the
position was observed by the Saracens faI
back as III A. D., and under leader named
Lorik fen Leyad landed and fortified the
r place in that year During period OF 9e
years from its first acquisition by the Sara
Gems Gibraltar was held either by Moors OF
Saracens, and was q constant cause Of wal
T between these two races. In lag! q SpanIsi
$ force under the Duke OF Medina Sidonit
: wrested the fortress from the Moors, and 81
:. strengthened it As to be considered impregna
bic. But in lsO4 the combined English ant
, Dutch feet under Sir George Rook and th'
, Prince Of Hesse- Darmstadt, took the rock
from the Spaniards and held 1t until l7l3
: Wien it was confirmed to Great Britain bi
: the treaty of Utrecht. The Spaniards woulC
not let Gibraltar 60 without another struggle
and attacked the garrison III l,2'; but ces
sation of hostilties soon came about on tn
signing of preliminaries Of peace betweeI
Spain and England.
: The noted siege, which lasted from i1.9 4
. i1sS, marks one OF the greatest annals II
L British military history, and never did troop
4 win greater renowu than the famous garrison
: that held Gibraltar against the combines
2 forces of France and Spain. All the imple
. ments Of modern warfare were used by tn
4 besegers, but the rock" proved impregna
ble. Capt Drinkwater, Of the British army
is authority for stating that 100 guns wer
brought TO bear by the allies, and that IN TIN
l. outer harbor were anchored forty seven ship
- of the line, carrying the ensigns Of Franc
: and Spain
=, British troops may never again be calie
u upon to hold Gibraltar they did IN lisJ
9 but the garrison Of to-day is ever prepared t